Quick post, site reviews

On the iPod: "Cartwheeels" - The Reindeer Selection

PingMag did a really nice piece on the beauty of infosthetics, earlier this week. It sort of gets you thinking about how even hard data can be made beautiful if you do it right.

In net applications, I'm testing a few of Google's new personal web home themes. I guess i never expected Google to jump on the cutesy theme bandwagon that Yahoo! has been doing for years and years.

The one I'm testing at the moment is below.



This one is called starry night and it changes throughout the day with the change in the weather and time. You enter your Zip code when you add the widget so that it can monitor sunup and sundown.

More later.

Some great foodie Web sites

On the iPod: "They Know Where You Live" - The Joy Circuit

I covered foodie sites in my column today. See below.

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I won't lie to you. I'm a foodie. And I blame it all on my mother's stellar cooking.

This passion has become so severe that I am now striving to find the best corned beef, the tastiest recipe for French onion soup and the most unique way to incorporate pomegranate arils with my salmon. And I'm doing all of that online.

So, if you're looking for a new spot for a business lunch locale, a new recipe or even if you're just looking to read up on some new wine, try these links out.

Chowhound.com is a site I visit daily. There you'll find message boards, recipes, restaurant reviews by region and a host of other tidbits. Thanks to chowhound, I'm now a fan of smoked porters, pickled red onions and Autumn squash ravioli with sage brown butter sauce. One day I plan on trying to make my own pancetta.

If new wine is what you seek, I highly recommend Wine Spectator's site (thanks to my boss Chris Crain for that one). Even if you’re a little new to wine (as I am), there is a wealth of information to get you started. At the very least, you can learn how to fumble your way through a presentation during your next business meeting. There are also some great videos about various regions. My favorite so far is on the art of champagne sabrage.

Finally, I give you my favorite local foodie blogger. Lisa Leutheuser (the Kitchen Chick) is an Ann Arbor resident. Here you'll be treated to some fantastic food reviews, great pictures and some real insight. She has totally turned me on to Biwako Sushi in Saline, thanks to this review.

On music, inspiration.

On the iPod "Unfinished" - Mineral

My drive to work, was the first time I truly felt alone in almost two weeks. Having my fiancé here really reminded me of how having someone important in your life takes your concentration from yourself. And while that's not always a good thing, it was fantastic to be distracted for a few days. I found myself staying further away from the computer, taking a little more time when I ate, enjoying an extra glass of wine and just taking a few minutes to take it all in.

This morning, I sank back into my routine, but the drive was different. I put on some records from my high school years. I listened to Mineral for a good chunk of the trip in on snow covered I-96. It took me back. As I listened, I was reminded of the woman I was dating when I first started listening to the band and then reflected on the woman that ended up meaning the most when I needed that band like air. And after I reminisced for a spell, I listened to the record again, for the first time in years. I listened to the record for what it was, not the emotions I had tied to it.

It was inspiring. The March snow falling, the poetic lyrics of one of my favorite bands being heard again for the first time and my tired mind started allowing wonderful new design ideas to flow forward into my head. When I got to work, I started pouring out code, sketching concepts and building new graphics.

So, I now have a new plan for the rest of this week: Revisit, rewind and redesign. So far, so good.

Happy Monday.

On being tired.

On the iPod "Time Bomb" - The Dismemberment Plan

I'm not feeling very well at all. I honestly just feel completely sapped of energy. This week, I've had a lot of responsibilities to my fiance's family, wedding planning, the Catholic church, our dog and to work. That hasn't really left much time for taking care of myself. It's starting to show. I'm looking a bit like a zombie, can't seem to stop my body from aching and all my head can think of is my rapidly depleting bank account. Pretty soon, I'm sure the other shoe will drop and I'll just crash. I'm looking forward to a little sleep and a few hours where I don't have someplace I need to be; some time that doesn't have to be spent talking about how we're hurting other people's feelings for wanting to have a wedding done our way, and some time when we're not talking about a wedding, a location or items associated with a wedding, period.

We're having fun right?

On Wedding Designs.

On the iPod: "So Lonely" - The Police

My wife to be and I went with our mothers to a bridal show at Waldenwoods in Hartland, MI yesterday. Aside from being the only person with a penis in the room that wasn't attached to a wedding-related booth, it was somewhat educational. It also confirmed my belief that this whole wedding thing is quite the racket.

While there, we saw about 17 different options for a table setting, hundreds of different color pallets and wedding photos of all kinds. What I did like was getting a good look at the various ways you can design a tablescape, decorate a room or create an invitation. Admittedly, I'm not as interested in what will be happening at the ceremony as I am in some of the things that precede it. I'm talking font choices for invitations, web sites favors. This stuff is what has been keeping me interested in this thing, as I'm generally of the opinion that this entire event will continue to be stressful and financially taxing up until the day I wait for that beautiful finance of mine to walk down the aisle and instantly make me a better person through association.

So, we're fairly confident that Waldenwoods will be the site. I'll keep you posted on the rest of the journey.

On religion.

On the iPod: "Mistress" - Red House Painters

About a year or two ago, I flirted with becoming a practicing Zen Buddhist. But, as it has been with a lot of other religions/faiths I looked into, I found struggles in accepting a lot of what it espoused. I believe what makes adopting a religion so difficult for me is the guidelines. Everything has a set of rules, and I just don't believe faith works that way.

And though Zen Buddhism doesn't necessarily require a faith in God, it still has these rules. You shouldn't eat meat, you shouldn't be mean to other people, you shouldn't poison your body.

Well, some days I want to be mean to people, some days I want to have a glass of wine with my friends and I think cows are delicious. I think it is very possible to enjoy poison, delicious cows and be mean at times and still find enlightenment.

I realize this belief makes me seem selfish.

But I believe most religions have a core problem in that they don't take a realistic view of the world. It's either all pessimism or wild optimism. They create a culture of community, but motivate that community with imaginary fears and sins.

What I liked about Buddhism was that it allows you to see exactly what "you" are, which allows you to objectively view what the world around you is, as opposed to someone's interpretation of it. And that is the way to true freedom and peace.

Personally, I don't think I'll ever find a "religion" that I can put all my stock in. I think the most important thing is putting stock in yourself.

On men's fashion

On the iPod: "White Trash Period of My Life" - Josh Rouse

Apparently, handbags have become all the rage in Tokyo according to PingMag.

This particular article addresses what you possibly might carry in these bags and addresses the overcrowding problem and largely commuter population in Asia. I just wonder if it would really, really catch on in a city like Detroit.



Now, I've been rocking messenger bags for quite a while now. Old friends often called it my man purse. Now my regular bag that I carry almost everywhere I go is my Firefox messenger/laptop bag made by Ogio. It's fantastic and I like to think I'm helping further the cause for Firefox by wearing it.


Now, handbags are a different story. What could you possibly need to keep in a handbag? In my messenger, I carry a book I'm reading, my laptop, my iPod, my cell phone and usually a mishmash of pens, pencils, a reporter's notebook and usually some sort of food in case my blood sugar crashes.


Purses for guys. I'm not so sure. The article is a good read though.

Jewish Culture, design

On the iPod: "King Medicine" - Jets to Brazil

I recently stumbled upon Nextbook, "A gateway to Jewish literature, culture & ideas," via Design Observer.

It's a fascinating site really, and chock full of content that examines culture, religion and fashion. But one article in particular caught my attention. Nelly Reifler interviews her boyfriend on his religious foundation, Christadelphianism.

Christadelphians practice Nontrinitarianism (rejection of the doctrine that God is three distinct persons in one being) and are a very small sect. Admittedly, I had never heard of Christadelphianism prior to reading her column. It's a great read and the comments at the end give you a little more insight into some of what the religion's followers believe.

Read Nelly's post, you won't regret it.

Working, working, working.

On the iPod "Always a Game" - Nada Surf

Today is one of those days I'm really glad my job doesn't require me to constantly interact with people, either face to face or by phone. Sure, I have to take on assignments, build things and get them signed off on, but there are certain days that I can skate by on minimal interpersonal interaction. Today I'm doing my best to avoid conversation that gets me anywhere past the absolute necessity.

I'm in a serious work mode and have found myself being surprisingly efficient despite a heavy than normal workload. Current projects include developing a major section front that incorporates 20 blogs that will be written by our 20 in their 20s.

Integrating blog functionality into Saxotech Online isn't exactly the easiest of tasks. I've been using the subscriber module to build them, but am considering a shift to the Custom Content Engine.

Have any of you fellow Saxo developers worked with a non-third party solution for Blogs? Let me know.

Design is everywhere

On iTunes - "Swell" - Thomas Cunningham and the Locofocos

I'm in the midst of creating a car design for the Indy Racing League. The league has opened up a design competition for their opening race this season at the Miami Homestead race. I've been very much enjoying it.

If you have any interest in marketing and branding issues via race marketing, check out the templates. I'll post mine when I'm done.

7 more days

On the iPod "Umm..." - Onelinedrawing

When significant events get close, sometimes I think it makes the waiting that much harder.

March is oddly enough shaping up to be a really important month for me. My best friend is getting married, my wife to be is coming home so our parents can meet for the first time and I have a few other things that are totally up in the air. I can't remember a time when I believe I've been more in flux in my life.

It's strange to think about marriage. It's a scary thing. It's like diving off the edge of a building. There really isn't any turning back from a dive like that. It immediately changes everything - just like our swan dive. Bones are going to break, there is going to be pain, but it might just put everything else into an entirely different light.

The thing about marriage is that it effects everything, your interaction with your immediate family, your responsibilities, your financial situation, how you see yourself and how you see yourself among others. It's not just about you anymore, it's about your family unit. It's been an interesting thing to see how my mind has totally warped since being engaged. The first thing I think of in the morning right now is what shape her hair would be making on the pillow next to me if she were there, then it goes directly to the plan. How are we going to pay for this? How are our families going to handle that? What would she think about this kind of bread? How pissed is she going to be that I'm eating this sodium laden pickle?

Nothing is really about me... and I don't think it will ever be that way again. It has suddenly become us, the family. And for the first time, I believe I have real love. You can't design it, put it on paper or code it in any way. It just exists, exclusive of any real definition. It exists.

7 more days.